Hospices Are a Growing Venue for Drug Trials

By

Sarah Rubenstein

Updated Sept. 27, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

The powerful drug that the hospice doctor had given Roy Neill helped relieve his shortness of breath. But the medicine that eased the symptoms of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that is killing him was also causing severe constipation.

"It was a stressful time," says Mr. Neill, 67 years old.

A hospice doctor caring for Mr. Neill at his home suggested he try an experimental drug, methylnaltrexone, designed to...